Middle school investigates classroom-sex report

Oxnard School District officials are investigating allegations that two students engaged in a sexual act during a junior high class this year.

The investigation started in April after the allegations surfaced at Haydock Intermediate School. The alleged incident was said to have taken place weeks earlier, officials said.

"A serious allegation has been made that there was a sexual encounter between two students," said Assistant Superintendent Sean Goldman. Reports indicated the incident happened between a boy and a girl during a seventh- and eighth-grade reading intervention class, he said.

Goldman said it's the first time in his 20 years in education that he has heard of such an allegation.

Some parents have said that two students engaged in oral sex in the back of the room while the rest of the class watched a film. But at this point, the district cannot confirm that any sexual encounter occurred in the classroom, Goldman said. Officials are investigating to find out what did happen and whether there was any wrongdoing. Goldman said details are not being released to protect student and employee privacy.

The teacher in the classroom has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the district. Officials are not releasing the teacher's name, citing employee confidentiality rules.

The allegations surfaced after a parent filed a complaint about a bullying issue, Goldman said. School administrators were investigating that matter when someone tipped them off about the alleged sexual encounter, he said.

The investigation is expected to conclude within a week, and officials said they plan to release their findings to the parents of the students involved. Goldman said the district will not disclose any administrative or disciplinary action that may be imposed on students or employees, citing privacy concerns.